Absence
by marysverse
Summary: “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just…there’s a lot going on right now Clark. Just let it go. I’ll get a life when I can. Okay?” She pleaded with him to drop this subject. Frankly talking about her future gave her a feeling of utter panic.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I'm writing this in response to the last episode in which AM got like three minutes of camera time. Why Smallville, why? Well, this is my version of why she wasn't around so much.

**Philadelphia**

"It's been too long." He said this as he approached her lean form that was resting against her ridiculous car. She appraised him with a critical eye. His perpetually unruly hair was longer since they had last seen each other, his eyes had the same twinkle without as much spark but the badass leather jacket was still the same.

As for her, he could see that life had been a bit rough on her, hell it had been rough on all of them. But there was no denying it, she still made his heart beat a little faster, not that he liked to acknowledge that he even had one, let alone that it reacted erratically when she was around.

"It's good to see you too." She replied giving him a sardonic grin. She hopped off her car and crossed her arms as she faced him. That was new, she usually greeted him with a hug, she was the hugging type and he could admit only to the most secret part of him that he enjoyed those hugs.

"Where's Sam?" She asked as she looked around the practically empty parking lot. She said Sam, not Sammie like she used to.

"He's coming." He rapped his knuckles lightly on the hood of her bright red vehicle that she called a car.

"So when are you going to let me help you upgrade this baby to a real car." She rolled her eyes at him.

"No making fun of my baby, it hasn't failed me yet."

A tall figure's legs were quickly eating up pavement approaching them.

"Hey." Sam called out softly to Chloe. They had always had a soft spot for each other, kindred research spirits or whatever.

He went in for their usual hug but she had already turned around to grab a bag from her car. So no hug for Sammie either Dean mused to himself.

"So, where are you guys camped out at?"

"Not far." Sam replied, running his hand through his hair, which he did whenever he felt unsure of something.

"Lead the way." She asked giving them a smile.

Sam and Dean started walking and she fell in step behind them. Dean kept an eye on her from his peripheral and Sam kept darting glances at her. She kept her head down when she wasn't texting on her phone. Sometimes Dean wondered if her friends at home could ever survive a few hours without her help. Then again, he had called her for help as well.

She didn't look up, she didn't make eye contact and she didn't even attempt conversation. Yeah, life had definitely been rough.

Sam opened the door to their motel room and Chloe slipped quietly in, going directly to the only table that had Sam's laptop set up.

Out of her bag, she pulled out her own laptop and started connecting gadgets that Dean didn't recognize to Sam's.

"New tech?" Sam asked sitting down next to her.

"It'll give you a boost." She acknowledged with a swing of her hair.

"So who's going to give me a full briefing?" Chloe asked after a few moments of silence as she was madly typed on her keyboard.

"Wasn't sure you needed one princess, you seem to be going full steam a head with something." Dean knew she hated it when he called her princess, but he was trying to get a bit of a reaction out of her.

"I'm pulling up everything that I think will be relevant with the little information you have given me so far. But it would be really helpful if you told me more so I could narrow my search."

"Well, we don't have much." Sam admitted.

"There's been a series of disappearances which isn't too unusual, but always near where the missing people were last seen, there's a mysterious pile of ashes."

"Let me guess, all girls?" Chloe asked.

"How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess." Chloe said with a sigh. Her mad finger dash on the keyboard stopped suddenly.

"Are the girls all high school age?"

"Yeah." Dean said clenching his jaw, why did evil always like them young?

"Well my convergence program points to one school, St. Augustine's, Catholic high school of course."

"Your conver-what?"

"It's just a statistical program to help us find a possible starting point."

"Wait, we haven't even told you where the disappearances occurred? How could you know where they converge?"

"What do you think I was looking up while you were talking, super cool cars for super cool people?" She retorted, giving Dean a little dig for insulting her car.

"This is a private school, so a little forged appointment letter for a tour of the school and sit in on a few classes and we are in business to snoop around tomorrow."

A few minutes later, the printer hummed to life spitting out three copies allowing them access into the school.

"Wow, this looks pretty legit." Sam praised.

"Well they did make it really easy. Putting a picture of their letterhead on the website is not the brightest idea, but I'm not going to complain."

"Any analysis on the ashes?"

"Police tried, but it was a thorough burning. They are not even sure what could burn so hot that it doesn't even leave trace evidence of what it was before."

Chloe pursed her lips, she had an idea of what could burn that hot, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions. Her phone buzzed again and she read another message.

"I gotta get back."

"What!? You just got here, you're going all the way back to Metropolis?"

"I'll meet up with you guys tomorrow. It's important."

Sam looked at her with concern, Dean was just pissed off. They were used to her having to run back and forth a lot, someone back home had a vice like grip on her and she came running whenever he called. But it was already late, she'd be on the road going there and coming back and definitely wouldn't think to squeeze in sleep.

"Don't worry about it, Sam and I will handle the school thing." Chloe gave him a cool look.

"I'll be at the school with or without you. And you know your social skills aren't really what they should be, let alone trying to talk to a bunch of high schoolers." Chloe responded firmly with a slight roll of her eyes.

"Anything we can help you with?" Sam asked, ever the Boy Scout.

Another message buzzed in and she scanned it quickly. This one got her to her feet and on the move. Grabbing her laptop, she headed to the door.

"No thanks Sam. It doesn't seem supernaturally related. I'll leave my overnight bag here, I have a feeling this case might take a few days." She went to open the door only to have herself be stopped by Sam as he pulled her into a tight hug.

She stayed stiff for a few seconds before relaxing and returning his embrace. Finally he let her go.

"It was good to see you. Be safe." He said softly against her ear. She smiled genuinely for the first time and gave him a swift peck on the cheek for good measure and was out the door.

"You're such a wuss." Dean immediately antagonized him.

"Hey, I'm the one who got a hug and a kiss, what'd you get loser." Sammie teased back as he sat down on his computer to test out the new toys Chloe had left for him.

**Metropolis**

"Chloe, I think your work has taken over your life."

Of course he would say that _after_ he got the info he wanted, Chloe fumed silently to herself.

"I'm fine Clark."

"You're not fine. Why do you always say that when you're obviously not?"

"Because I am!"

"Chloe?!" Clark insisted.

"What's the point? Tell me what is the point getting a life when I've only got a few months to live it?"

Clark got real quiet; surprised that this is what she had been grappling with.

"You know, there used to be a time when you had such utter faith in me, that when I said I would stop something, you believed me no question." Clark accused her.

"There used to be a time in which I loved you too Clark but things change." She immediately regretted it the moment it was out of her mouth. There it comes, the hurt puppy dog eyes, he was damn good at that.

"You don't love me anymore?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just…there's a lot going on right now Clark. Just let it go. I'll get a life when I can. Okay?" She pleaded with him to drop this subject. Frankly talking about her future gave her a feeling of utter panic.

"Okay." He agreed, having little choice.

He turned to leave and hesitated at the door.

"No matter what we've been through, I've never stopped loving you." He said this so softly she thought maybe she imagined it, but he pinned her with the full force of his gaze, making sure she heard him.

She gave a slight nod of her head in acknowledgement and Clark went swiftly out the door.

**Philadelphia**

Man, high school still sucks, Dean thought to himself as he headed back toward his Impala waiting faithfully in the school parking lot. Sam was already there waiting for him.

"Did you get lucky?"

"I really hope you talking about lucky with information and not lucky with underage high schoolers." Sam scolded him.

"Of course that's what I meant." Dean responded indignantly.

"Nothing stood out to me."

"Me either, I hope Chlo got something."

"Possibly." Chloe responded as she approached from behind them.

"Some kid named Sabile really freaked me out and asked me to meet him at Rittenhouse park."

"Like he was the only kid brave enough to ask you out." Dean smirked at her.

"No he wasn't, however, no one else asked me to go out with them to a secluded park at the dead of night and no one's else's name in an anagram for Belias as in Satan." Chloe informed them smugly as she climbed into the backseat.

**Back at the motel**

"I'm going to try to catch a nap before our rendezvous."

"Chlo, use the bed." Dean ordered through clenched teeth when he saw her grab a pillow and head to the floor.

"What if you guys want to sleep?"

"It's not like we never shared a bed before. And some of us got sleep last night and don't need a nap, can you say the same?"

Chloe gave him a sheepish grin and gave up the fight. She was so damn tired and her arm was burning like it was on fire. It was just a damn scratch of an arrow.

Dean and Sam tried to inconspicuously watch her sleep. She was not having an easy time of it. She was tossing and turning and cried out softly every time she rolled onto her left arm. He had thought he had seen her favoring it throughout the day.

Sam moved over closer to her and tried to comfort her by brushing her hair off her forehead.

"Jesus, Dean she's burning up." Sam whipped the covers off her to try to cool her down and saw the bed was soaked from blood seeping from her arm.

Dean grabbed her in his arms and took her to the bathtub.

"We gotta cool her down."

"Why isn't she healing herself?" Sam asked in a desperate tone.

"I don't know." Dean turned on the water and plugged the tub. She immediately convulsed in protest, making weak attempts to get away from the water.

"C-co-cold." She shivered out.

"I know babe, I'm sorry, but you gotta stay." Dean held her down as she ineffectually struggled against him.

"That's no way to treat a lady." A stranger admonished them from the door of the bathroom. Sam and Dean immediately whipped out their pistols they kept tucked in their waistbands and aimed at the intruder.

"Well, here I thought you were on our side."

"Who's side would that be?" Dean interrogated as the lanky figure clad in light grey suit leaned his shoulder against the doorframe. He lifted his head and pointed his index finger skyward but Sam was already spouting his Latin verses.

"Good, good, your pronunciation is getting better. But I suppose it's hard to get it exact when you're using a dead language." The man commended, unfazed with Sam's attempts to ward him off.

"Who the hell are you." Dean demanded.

"I told you, I'm not on that side. Name's Raphael, The boss man sent me to help with the missus."

"I'm not letting you near her!" Sam threatened.

"She's poisoned, you want her to die? Besides, there's no need, I've already done what I came to do." They both looked at Chloe to find she had stopped shaking and was coming out of her semi delirious state.

"What did you do to her?"

"Me, I didn't do anything. Just gave her back something that was wrongly taken away. Listen up pups, you guys have been doing a bang up job so far, but things are about to get a lot hairier. And this little blond angel has a damn important role to play. I know you don't know much about the things she's involved in, but you guys need to make it your business to find out."

"Why can't you guys ever say clearly what needs to be done?" Dean asked. The man smirked at him.

"Guess it's the boss man's way of knowing your worthy. Figure it out, keep her safe, but let her do what she has to. That's all I'm allowed to say." And with a wink of his eye and a snap of his fingers, Raphael disappeared.

"Why am I sitting in cold water and why are you guys in here?" Chloe asked sharply. Guess she was better Dean thought, not looking forward to explaining the situation.

Later after Chloe had taken a warm shower and changed into dry clothes, the boys sat down with her and told her everything that happened.

"I don't remember anything after falling asleep." Chloe said, puzzled at the strange events the guys had just filled her in on.

"Now it's your turn to spill, how the hell did you get sliced like that with poison and not even tell us about it."

"Well, it's not like I knew the arrow was poisonous!" She defended.

"The arrow!" Sam and Dean both repeated at the same time.

"Look you know that I deal with people like you guys. People that go around trying to do good things. They have a different mission than you but the same goals ultimately. And I got snagged up; it's not the first time or the last time. Nor is it a big deal."

"Chlo, you gotta give us something more than that."

"I can't and you know it. It'd be like telling them about you. Would you guys want me to spill all of your secrets to them just because of a little scrape."

"Chloe, you had an angel interfering on behalf of the big man upstairs. I'd hardly say it's not a big deal." Sam insisted.

"It's almost time to go, I have a date remember?"

"You sure you up to it?" Dean asked, knowing they weren't going to get any further with her right now.

"Yes, I feel fine. If I didn't know you guys I'd say you dreamed up the whole scenario, that's how fine I feel." Dean gave her a long appraising look.

"Alright, let's head out." Sam pulled two shotguns from under the bed and Dean grabbed extra rounds as they headed out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So I know I have way too many stories on the burner but I tend to lose interest in my stories if I don't get a lot of response from them. If people don't enjoy reading them, then what's the point, right? So I've actually never watched Supernatural and only have a general idea of the storyline so sorry if their history and character are inconsistent. Hope you like it!

Philadelphia

"I should head home."

Dean broke out of his reverie at her words. He had been watching her as she stood by the window, the sun streaming down on her as she took a moment to enjoy the warmth. It was the happiest he'd seen her since he had called her for help a few days ago.

"Sorry I called you for nothing." Dean apologized sheepishly,

"Girls getting burned by hellfire doesn't seem like nothing to me."

"Yea but I thought maybe it was him. I was sure it was him."

Chloe sighed and turned away from the bright light.

"That's the problem with bad guys, they never seem to run out of minions."

There it was again, that sad look, a look that showed so much regret and despair, and then in a blink it was gone. Like it had never been there in the first place.

"Well you can't leave yet." Dean smiled smugly at her.

"And why the hell not?" She demanded arching her brow at his impertinence.

"Cause I'd have to deal with Sammie crying himself to sleep tonight if you left without saying goodbye.

Rolling her eyes at his dramatic interpretation she asked, "Where is he by the way?"

"Picking up grub for us, so you have to stay. He's buying you food with our hard earned money."

"You mean hard stolen money?"

"Same difference."

Reaching up, he grasped her by the wrist and pulled her down to where he was on the couch so she was sitting firmly ensconced next to him.

"Won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"What makes you think something is wrong?" She asked not quite looking at him.

"Our visits may be few and far between but I know you. Don't ever doubt that I know you."

Shaking her head at him, she sunk deeper into the couch and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Besides, we're supposed to keep an eye on you."

"Since when did you start listening to celestial beings?"

"Since that one saved your life." He retorted with no hesitation.

Pulling away from him, she sat up straight.

"There are things, some things…that I have to do."

"You talk like it's already written, I thought you didn't believe in fate?"

"Well some things are unavoidable, some things are just necessary."

"Basically, you're not going to tell me."

"Basically."

"Grub's on." Sam announced as he walked through the door.

"Can't stay Sam." She stood up, grabbing her bag on the way to the door. Standing on her tiptoes she placed a light soft kiss on Sam's lips.

"Take care of yourself Sammie, and your brother, I know he's a handful." Squeezing his hand tightly for a moment she let go and headed out.

She opened her car door fighting tears only to have the door slammed closed before she could get in.

"Why did that sound like goodbye?" Dean demanded.

"Well that's what you usually do when you leave, it's a fairly common courtesy."

"You know what I meant. And what the hell is going on, why are you freezing me out?"

"I'm not."

"You are!" Dean yelled at her, losing his patience after spending three days with her acting like a ghost of her former self. Gripping her face he smashed his lips against her, almost exactly like their first kiss had been. But like the first kiss that had been in anger, it gentled like it always did. He couldn't stay angry with her when they were kissing, he never could.

She tasted so sweet and he could feel her responding, with a need and a passion that was always between them. He broke the kiss as he felt himself lose control, he had dreamed vividly and often of what his first time with Chloe would be like and he'd be damned if it was going to be in some dingy parking lot, no matter how much his body screamed at him to do it.

He pressed his lips against her forehead, both of them breathing heavily trying to get catch their breaths.

"Please Chlo." She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with tears held prisoner.

"I just can't…I have to go Dean. Just let me go." One drop trickled down, running a jagged track down her pearly cheek.

He stepped back and Chloe fled to the safety of her car, driving off without a single look back.

Storming back into the motel room, he started grabbing his things and tossing them into his duffel.

"What are you doing?"

"Packing!" Sam pressed his lips together and cocked his head to one side, waiting for more information.

"Okay, I give up. Where are we going?"

"Metropolis."

"Something's up with Chloe isn't there?"

"Yep."

"She tell you what?"

"Nope."

"Does she know we are coming?"

"Nope."

"Okay then." Sam agreed simply as he started to pack up the room. Dean allowed a small smile to himself. On some things, him and Sam just understood each other completely.

Metropolis

J'onn had left before the end of dinner when he got a call about a homicide leaving Chloe and Oliver alone. Oliver insisted on walking her home in the end and for once Chloe couldn't argue her way out of it.

"What inspired the dinner invite?" She finally asked. Oliver shrugged.

"Don't you think it was nice how close they were?"

"Yeah, but just because it works for them, doesn't mean it'll work for us."

"I know."

"I wish I had what Hawkman had." Oliver admitted wistfully.

"What, better insults?" Laughing Oliver shook his head.

"No, a soul mate. Someone that he knows will be there always. That's nice."

"I'm sorry it didn't work out with you and Lois. I don't think you would have made a bad brother-in-law."

"No," Oliver said tilting his head to the side, like he had just come to the realization himself, "Lois and I weren't meant to be. She's fun and easy to be with and I kinda always hung on to this idea of her."

"Oliver, you don't have to be strong for my sake." Chloe said softly, disbelieving him.

"No, I think I'm being honest with myself for the first time actually. I'm not in love with Lois Lane."

"Okay, well good for you. Now you can start looking for something serious." Chloe encouraged, playing along.

"Yeah, maybe I can." Oliver looked at her, thinking to himself. Chloe missed his meaningful glance altogether because she was two busy staring at the dynamic duo hanging outside her door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Outside the Watchtower**

Dean gave a smart-ass salute in greeting while Sam gave a tentative wave with a sheepish grin. They'd visited her a couple of times over the years that they've known each other, but they were few and far between and usually because of some dire emergency. And always with a heads up via cellphone.

She stared at them standing under a weak pool of light, looking completely out of place.

"Who are they?" Oliver asked, pulling Chloe out of the blank shock she had been in.

"Umm…friends." Chloe continued to remain silent, not moving forward, not backing away, trying to suss out the implications of their presence.

"What friends?" Oliver growled out, frustrated by Chloe's obtuseness.

"Hmm…what? Oh just some friends from out of town. Listen Oliver, thanks for the dinner. I'll see you later." With that she briefly touched him on his shoulder and walked towards the two strangers at her door.

Oliver glared at Chloe's retreating back, not liking the situation at all but unsure what he could or should do about it.

Chloe placed her index finger against her lips, indicating to the waiting boys to not speak as she approached them and unlocked the door. They slipped quietly inside and with a reassuring wave to Oliver, Chloe followed and shut the door.

Oliver approached her door, thinking of a flimsy excuse to get inside when he heard the distinctive click of the lock and the metallic scrape of the deadbolt, effectively disinviting him from joining the party.

Reluctantly he walked away, trying to figure out the meaning of the arrival of these strangers and the implication of distrust on Chloe's part for being evasive.

**Inside the Watchtower**

"Okay, did someone trade their soul for the other again?" She asked as soon as the locks were in place, only half joking about the souls.

"Nope." Dean responded.

"Is the apocalypse happening now?" She tried again.

"Oh, definitely not." Sam answered this time.

"Okay, so what the hell are you guys doing here?"

"Ouch! You wound me Chlo. Can't we visit an old friend?" Dean put a hand up to his heart, mocking chest pain.

"We just had a visit remember?" She put her hand on her hip and gave them her best no nonsense face.

"Okay, honestly we are worried about what the angel said." Sam admitted while Dean smacked him on the back of his head for revealing their intentions.

"I don't need protection and I definitely don't need babysitting!" Chloe fumed at them.

"Well too bad princess, cause we are here on an extended stay with or without your approval."

"What are you guys going to do here? We have metahuman problems, not demons."

"Maybe, you just never paid attention to any potential demon stories cause you were too preoccupied with your city's "metahuman" problem." Dean snarked back. He had expected resistance but that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Look, we'll get a hotel room, we'll stay out of your hair. We just want to be close in case anything really crazy goes down, fair enough?"

Pinching the bridge of her nose and squeezing her eyes shut, she racked her brain for any way she could convince them to go. Normally, she would love to have two friendly faces around, she didn't seem to have too many of them lately, but she didn't want her Watchtower duties to be compromised, nor did she want to compromise any of the super members.

Then again, she wasn't about to let them drain a fortune into a hotel room for their "extended stay." They were her friends after all.

"If you stay here, you stay here in my Watchtower. You just have to give me a heads up when you're coming and going. And no spying on me or my activities or the option of staying here will be taken out of all our hands by people that won't even give you the option of protesting. Got it?"

Dean wasn't too keen with the idea of having to report to her their every move, but he kinda understood that it was so she could make sure her secrets and the secrets of those she protected stayed intact. He was about to give her a hard time about it anyway when Sam clamped a hand down hard on his shoulder.

"We are just gonna go grab our stuff from the car." He gave her a big grin and dragged Dean by the vice-like grip on his shoulder towards the door. Chloe gave a rueful shake of her head as they headed out and dragged herself upstairs to prepare the guest room.

There was only one queen sized bed in the room, they would either have to alternate sleeping on the floor or they could drag one of the couches up here. Gleefully, she decided she would initially suggest the boys share the bed together, anticipating the shades of red they would turn before refusing. Boys are so squeamish.

Later on that Week…

Sometimes she really hated her life. Of course she knew something had been off about the kid, but it still stung all the same. It was nice to be around him, he was so innocent and naïve. It reminded her of how she was in high school, and it also reminded her how far gone she was from that.

Opening the doors to the Watchtower, she was startled to by the thwap of an arrow hitting its target. Oliver gave her his reason for being there but she honestly wasn't paying attention, she was just too drained to take in anyone else. She did perk up when she saw the decanter. She had never stocked this place with anything stronger than coffee and something to take the edge of sounded perfect. Walking over she sat down on the couch and poured herself a drink. Sipping on the fierce liquid, she filled Oliver in on the events of the day. He surprised her when he motioned her over to try his bow. He was fairly territorial about that his weapon of choice.

Walking over to him she mimicked his posture with the bow. She didn't think anything of the physical adjustments he was making to her body; it wasn't until she felt his breath right against her ear and the light press of his side against hers that she realized how intimate they currently were. Oliver released his hands from her, allowing her to maintain the aim and stability on her own. The sudden warmth of his hand against the small of her back almost made her lose focus completely. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, she released the string after all the air was expelled from her lungs.

She allowed herself a small smile when her arrow hit the bulls eye. Oliver slung his arm over her shoulder in a congratulatory hug, their eyes met and entangled themselves. Chloe was caught, undecided. On one hand, a kiss had been a long time coming. It was natural that there would be unresolved tension between them, on the other hand, it was a complication that could have disastrous consequences.

Luckily, Dean and Sam chose that exact moment to walk through the door. Dean took one look at their close proximity and hightailed it upstairs. Sam took a more reasonable approach and introduced himself to Oliver.

"I'm Sam, an old friend of Chloe's."

"Oliver, Oliver Queen."

Kinking his eyebrow when he spotted the bow, Sam asked, "This is not the same shooter that hit you with a poisoned arrow I hope?"

"No, of course not, this is actually my hobby. Oliver was interested in picking it up, but he doesn't have the knack." Chloe immediately lied, covering up any possibility that they could link the Green Arrow to Oliver.

"_Poisoned _arrow?" Oliver questioned. Chloe shrugged it off, she hadn't been ready to tell anyone. Talking about being poisoned would lead to how she was cured, and that would lead to an explanation that an angel had restored her healing power. It was a fine mess that she had yet to sort through.

"I'm pretty tired Queen and I think your quest to conquer archery in one night is a failed one my friend." Oliver took the hint, driving down the curiosity of why she wasn't kicking out Sam and the guy that had run upstairs. She had fended off all attempts on his part to gain more information since he first saw the guys on her doorstep. He had assumed they had gone home or away, but apparently they had been staying with Chloe all this time.

This new tidbit of information made his protective streak over her jump into overdrive, but he'd allow her slack this time. But tomorrow, he would get answers from her, and possibly collect on the almost kiss that had just happened. He saw himself out after he said his goodbyes and whistled his way home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Watchtower**

Was she really stealing? She hadn't thought of it as stealing. The money wasn't for her, she wasn't using it to buy shiny things for herself. She really hadn't thought twice about spending his money. He had basically called her a gold digger. And for what? Because she's stockpiling weapons? She felt guilty but couldn't reason out why she felt guilty. Ensuring the future of the human race seemed the best reason to spend money on. This was giving her a headache.

She rolled her shoulders trying to loosen their tightness as she stood in front of her main console, she couldn't remember what she had been trying to look up. Dean saw her discomfort and approached her, reaching for her shoulders.

"Good lord princess, do you know how many knots you've got back here?"

"Every time you say princess, it makes me think of Lana from high school and the color pink and taffeta. Do you know how weird that is?"

"Yup, that's why I do it." Digging his fingers in deeper he was rewarded with an involuntary moan from her.

"You wanna talk about it?" He offered casually, making sure she knew there was no pressure. She automatically shook her head, but then reconsidered.

"Do you think I've changed Dean?"

"Of course you have, I'd like to think we all have."

"For better or for worse?"

He let out a small burst of laughter tinged with bitterness.

"Unfortunately, both. But that's how we all change, it's not always for the better and it's not always for the worse. Why don't you just tell me what's been eating you for the past week?"

Sighing, she grabbed his hands that were still working on her shoulders.

"I think I'm losing it. I told Oliver that I knew that I was slipping but I didn't, I still don't. I still don't see what was wrong. If I told Oliver, he would have told Clark and that would have been the end of that. No weapons, no insurance. Am I so far gone that I can't see the wrong? Where is the damn line that I used to see so clearly?"

"Maybe starting from the beginning would be best, cause you've lost me."

"That's the problem," she gave him a slow sad smile, "I can never start from the beginning." With that, she moved away from him and headed out the door.

**Oliver's Office**

"Just the distraction I was looking for." He teased as soon as she walked in. An obligatory brief half-smile was thrown his way and his teasing grin soon turned to a frown.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't work for you, I'm resigning."

"We already discussed this."

"Yes, but I didn't tell you the truth. Truth is that you can't help me see the line. The line is gone and I'll overstep again."

"We will deal with it as it comes." Oliver reassured her.

"No, _we_ won't."

Oliver gave her a long appraising look.

"Is this about business or is this about pleasure? I'm sorry for the booty call remark, I was angry."

She came in further into his office and shut the door.

"I'm not mad about the booty call, that's what we are, that's all we can be. If I thought for one second it was something else, I would have never started with you. We don't have…time, we can't afford…something more. But the gold digger insinuation, I resent. But that's neither here nor there. I can't work for you Oliver, I'm only going to bring you down."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I'm not quitting the fight. I'll do everything I can to stop the Kandorians, but if it comes down to that final fight, I'll be there. I'll be with you guys, in the end, I promise."

Oliver wanted to just outright refuse her, but that wouldn't make him any headway. She'd made up her mind, there was no changing it with reasoning or demands. But she always was willing to compromise.

"Give me two more weeks."

"What? Why?"

"I need two more weeks. I'm working on a mission plan right now, I can't tell you much about it. But I'm going to need you for the implementation, in two weeks. Promise me that and I'll agree to your resignation without a fight."

The problem with bargaining with billionaires was that they always had a few tricks up their sleeves. She learned that lesson well from both Luthors. But this was Oliver, if he said there was a mission, there was a mission. She could wait two weeks.

She gave a swift nod of her head before heading out the door. His voice stopped her as she reached for the knob.

"As for our relationship or lack there of according to you, that you can't run away from. If you want to put it on the back burner until after our showdown with the Kandorians, I get that, but it's not over and you can't resign from it."

She glanced over her shoulder to see a confident smirk on his face and ripped open the door on her way out. Sometimes billionaires just weren't worth the trouble.

**Watchtower**

"Chloe, where have you been?" Clark reprimanded as she took her first step inside her tower.

"How many keys do you give out to your place Chlo?" Dean smirked at her while Clark whipped his head around to glare at Dean for using his nickname for Chloe.

Dean was leaning against the doorframe, happily munching on a burger and offering Chloe the other half. The Sam breezed in through the door, coming up behind Chloe and dropping a casual kiss on her cheek and going for the rest of the takeout.

"Who's this?" Sam asked around a mouthful of French fries, staring at Clark who was turning an unnatural shade of red.

"Who am I, who the hell are you?"

"We are invited houseguests, old and dear friends of Chlo." Dean slung an arm around Chloe to see Clark turn from red to purple.

"I think he might blow a gasket." Dean whispered into her ear. Too bad he didn't know that Clark could hear him and too bad he also didn't know that Clark could squash him like a bug.

"Chloe, I need a word, in private!"

"You wouldn't have run into a likpros while you were out and about did you?" Sam asked. Chloe had seen the purple tinged scorch mark on Clark's jacket and had figured this was what he wanted to talk about.

"You know what it is?" Clark asked, thoroughly confused.

"Yep, damn lesser demon bastards." Dean commented with a scowl.

"That's impossible, it looked like a kid."

"That's kinda their shtick, it was probably the cutest damn kid you've ever seen. Girl type always has curly blonde hair with ribbons, boy type angelic white blonde hair with an adorable little cowlick. They're devious that way."

"Who are you guys again?"

"Okay, that's it." Dragging Clark by the arm towards the door, it took her a few seconds to realize he wasn't budging.

"Clark, this isn't…it's not…you don't need to worry about this one. We've got it covered." How was she supposed to explain to him it wasn't of the kryptonite infection variety if he refused to move out of hearing of Dean and Sam.

Clark folded his arms and silently demanded a better explanation.

"Can he be trusted?" Sam asked. Chloe hesitated, but finally nodded her head. That hesitation hit Clark like train, how had they deteriorated this far?

"I'm Sam, this is my brother Dean. We are hunters."

"What do you hunt?"

"Ghosts, demons, pretty much anything in the realm of the supernatural."

"And that's what this likpros is?"

"Yep, that'd be our realm so unless you know Latin incantations and can handle a shotgun, you should just let us handle this."

"Fine, but Chloe stays out of it."

"Whoa Clark, your overstepping your boundaries here. You don't get a say in my participation."

"What, you think she just cheers from the sidelines?" Looking over at Chloe, Dean asked, "Who is this guy? He seems to know nothing about you." Clark made to move closer to Dean and Chloe stepped in between them.

"Chlo, this sounds dangerous!" Dean's eyes narrowed at Clark's use of his nickname for her.

"I don't want you getting mixed up in demons and guns."

"Clark! Just stop, you want to talk to me about this, then let's step outside, if not I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Fine, I'll wait for you outside."

Chloe waited until Clark was outside before going to the door herself. Sending a dark look Dean's way she said, "You didn't have to mention the shotguns."

"Anything I can do to help princess." Dean replied with a sweet smile. Chloe slammed the door on her way out.

"Listen Clark, I'm not new to the whole supernatural realm. I know what's involved and I'm pretty good at it. Just let us take care of this one."

"You are unbelievable, you know all my secrets and you've been keeping this from me!"

"Be reasonable, it wasn't my secret to tell. I don't' know why the guys decided to let you in on the secret but it wasn't my choice to make." Damn, he might obsess about this all day. She needed to refocus him on something to get him off her back.

"Lois! You need to find Lois. You know she's somehow going to wind up smack dab in the middle of this; you need to find her and keep her out of the way. They are nasty little buggers and go for the slow kills."

Clark automatically started tuning his hearing to find her voice. It still took him longer than he liked. Whenever he needed to find Chloe's voice, it came to him immediately, as if he never tuned away from the sound of her voice in the first place. But that was impossible.

"She's okay."

"For now. Go get her and distract her away from this."

"How am I supposed to do that?" He asked with a puzzled expression.

Rolling her eyes at him, "Use your imagination Clark." Clark started to blush as her implication sunk in.

"We're not, we're taking things slow. Besides, it's a little intimidating."

"What is?" She asked distractedly, really not wanting to be pulled into this conversation.

"She's been with…she's more experienced."

"She's had the same number of serious relationships as you, Oliver, Grant and you."

"Yea, but there's the random college guys she was with, there was that dead but not dead military dude, there was A.C., there was Oliver, there was Grant, there was that sleazy strip club guy and god knows the ones she hasn't told me."

Lois had confided in her that she had started out pretty young in high school, but that was definitely not something she was ever sharing with Clark.

"Clark, you're over thinking this. Just go be a good boyfriend, that's all you need to do to keep her happy." He was quiet for a moment before approaching her. Lightly he traced his finger along the curve of her cheek. He hadn't realized how long it had been since they had touched each other in a personal way. They used to touch all the time, to comfort and reassure. They didn't do that anymore.

"And what can I do to keep you happy Chlo?"

She stepped away from his reach and turned away from him.

"Nothing Clark, there's nothing you can do. That's not your job." Giving him a weak smile, she headed inside.


	5. Chapter 5

"Ok Ollie, I think I've given you a lot of slack, time to explain." She set her bags down in the room and plopped down on the bed waiting for a fantastic explanation as to why she had to go under cover with him as a happily married couple at the most remote bed and breakfast she had ever seen.

He swallowed hard, trying to get his voice past the lead lump in his throat, choking him of what he needed to say. This was his last grand gesture, he had tried in every way to get her to see them as something more than a roll in the hay but to no avail.

"I asked you here because…I need you to give us a chance. I'm asking for you to explore the possibility of us for three days and if you don't like it, if this isn't what you want, I won't keep bothering you about it. I'll accept your decision."

He shifted his posture and the antique dresser creaked discouragingly under his weight.

"Let me get this straight, you bring me here under false pretenses of a mission in order to get me spend the weekend with you at the _McDougal Inn_? That's what you call sweeping a girl off her feet?"

"Aha, see that's a trick question. If I took you somewhere fantastic, you'd just call Bart and be outta there before you took two steps off the plane. I picked this because it's small and intimate and has the remotest possibility of running into anyone who knows us or cares to know us. This is a good way to try to start having a real relationship, without you feeling the pressure of people putting us under a microscope."

Crossing her legs underneath her, she scooted to one side of the bed and patted the cleared space, indicating him to sit with her. Cautiously he sat down, wondering if this was the conversation that would end them completely. She looked around the quaint little room, filled with knickknacks from another time, another place.

"This is nice, actually it's perfect. I want to spend the weekend with you being just two normal people that like each other very much. But there is something I need to tell you that is going to change things between us."

Twisting his lips into a wry smile he cupped her face in his hands. She still didn't understand that she was it for him. No matter what came, no matter what changed, she was the one that ended all doubts for him. All the confusion he experienced torn between love and duty just didn't exist with her. He didn't know how to really explain it to her; it was like all his past relationships had just been preparing him, for her. He pulled her face closer, kissing her mouth, reveling in how her soft lips yielded against his. He darted his tongue out to swipe against hers but pulled back and trailed kissed to her ear.

"You can tell me anything." He whispered against her, restraining himself so she could say what she needed to say. But his whisper sent tiny shivers through her, piercing her control and she wrapped her fingers in his hair to tug him back to her mouth.

"Later." She breathed against him, claiming his mouth to get lost in the one dance they knew all the steps to.

* * *

She smiled radiantly at him, Clark was in the background calling her name but she ignored him. Slowly she made her way towards him as Clark grew smaller and smaller in the background. She turned away for a moment to pick up a flower from the field and tucked it behind her ear. Smoothing a hand lovingly over her growing belly, she smiled again at him. But something was wrong, something was matching her step for step. He tried to run to her but he was going in slow motion. She turned and saw the shadow gaining on her, she looked back at him and opened her mouth to scream.

"Chloe!" He woke up with a start, his heart galloping in his chest when he realized she wasn't in bed with him. His eyes landed on her naked silhouette at the window, her pale skin illuminated in silvery blue tones.

"Chloe?"

"I heard a scream and the powers out, we should check it out." He slid out of bed and joined her at the window, nestling her back against his chest. He closed his eyes as he buried his face in her hair, willing the remnants of the dream to fade away. She turned around in his embrace, sliding her body deliciously against his, driving all thought from his head.

"Come on Ollie," she nibbled his lip teasingly, "there maybe a damsel to rescue." Sliding out of his grasp she threw on a complimentary robe and headed out the door. Shaking his head at the unfairness of it all, he took up a matching robe and followed her out.

* * *

Clark tried to clear his mind again. He was here with Lois, trying to get that missing connection going. He liked being with her, she was fun and a little nutty, but there was definitely something missing. He thought maybe it was intimacy, even though a part of him knew that wouldn't help. And it didn't help that running into Chloe and Oliver of all freaking people was throwing him way off. He rinsed the soap out of his hair wondering what was taking Lois so long. Anyway, it was her business who she chose to see and if she thought Oliver was good for her than he didn't have much choice in the matter. But really, Oliver Queen, he was so far from Chloe's type. He heard the door creak open.

"Lois, I can hear you." He playfully sang out, ripping the shower curtain to the side to let her in.

"Chloe! What are doing here?"

"Well, I thought I would join you." She dropped the red towel from her body to stand in naked glory before him. He hastily pulled the shower curtain back around him, feeling a certain part of his body betraying him.

"Yea I can see that," he turned his head away but couldn't help another surreptitious glance at her, "at least, I'm trying not to see that." He mumbled more to himself trying to hammer in that she was his friend, his best friend, and he should not be ogling her. Nor be thinking of any hammering analogy concerning her.

Wrapping a towel around his treacherous lower half he rambled on, "Umm, I'm done here, so the shower is yours…" He approached her blind with another towel trying to cover up the delicious bits of her that were causing havoc on his body.

"It's not the shower I want." Wrapping her arms around him she pulled him closer. Damn it, he was hesitating, he should not be hesitating. Using the towel he forced himself to spin her away from him.

"Chloe how much wine did you have to drink, at dinner?" She spun back towards him, pushing flush against him making him stifle a groan.

"Why, you want to share another bottle? Or maybe we could just go for a moon lit walk in the woods." Her eyes were literally sparkling at him, like seriously saucily sparkling, how much of a resistance was he supposed to put up again? Ok, breathe Clark, reasons why you can't take a moon lit walk with a naked Chloe.

"I don't think that Oliver would appreciate it." He said, more a question than a statement. After all, she hadn't exactly divulged the exact nature of their relationship, maybe Oliver didn't get a say. He slid his hands down her bare shoulders and tried to tell himself he was just reassuring her and no, he was not noticing the velvety softness of her skin, nor wondering what said skin tasted like.

Lois burst in and interrupted his wayward thoughts. After a flurry of hasty words she handed a bottle of something to Chloe and stormed out. If all the blood wasn't rushing away from his head, he would have had a much easier time keeping up with what was going on. All of a sudden Chloe fainted on him and he grabbed her closer, supporting her up.

"Chloe?"

"Clark?" She looked up at him dazedly.

"What are you doing?" Slight panic edged her voice.

"What are _you_ doing?" He shot back at her.

"Where are my clothes?"

"I don't know."

"What's going on?" She was in full on panic mode and quickly made her escape. Well he had always wondered what would happen if they ever got naked together. Now he knew, her only physical reaction to him would be to run in the opposite direction. Great, this was just great, he thought as he stared dumbly at the bottle he had been left holding.

She ducked into her room and threw on clothes as she tried to figure out how she had got from the woods to the shower with Clark. This just wasn't adding up, something had to have been in the driver's seat during her memory loss. She needed to call in reinforcements.


End file.
